North Dumfries, Ontario

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Map of Waterloo Regional Municipality, Ontario with North Dumfries in red.

The Township of North Dumfries is a rural township in Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Region of Waterloo. Its 2006 Census population was 9,063.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Government
4 Communities
5 External links

[edit] History

The history of North Dumfries is closely tied to that of the old town of Galt, now part of the city of Cambridge, Ontario. Galt was founded on the east bank of the Grand River by Absolom Shade on behalf of William Dickson of Niagara. This new town was located in the heart of Dumfries Township in the Gore District.

What is now North Dumfries originally formed the north half of Dumfries Township, hence the current name. With the introduction of the county system in the mid-nineteenth century, Dumfries was split between the new Waterloo and Brant Counties. The remaining southern half of the old Dumfries Township is now South Dumfries in Brant County. At about the same time Dumfries Township was divided, the town of Galt was extracted from it as an autonomous municipality within the new Waterloo County. Though the two municipalities (Galt & North Dumfries) were now technically separated from one another, their histories are tightly interwoven as the township nearly envelopes what was then Galt.

The township's easternmost section (around the village of Clyde) was originally part of Wentworth County (now the city of Hamilton); it was transferred to Waterloo Region in the 1970s.

[edit] Demographics

The ethnic makeup of the city is 98.6% White, 0.4% Filipino, 0.2% Black, 0.2% Aboriginal. Around 23.6% of the population is under the age of 14, while those over 65 number 8.8%. The average age is 35.8.

[edit] Government

The citizens of North Dumfries are represented by the Mayor and four township councillors. The Mayor is directly elected while the councillors are elected in four wards. The Mayor serves as the Township's sole representative on Regional Council.